Recipes

Apr 12, 2010

Saturday Missions, Ted's Butcherblock, and bad girls at Baked!

Saturday morning I woke up with two Asian missions: sweet chili sauce and nail polish. I called Ashley and told her about my weird needs and thankfully she's weird enough to join in on my adventures. Mission 1: Nail Polish, accepted.

Re-Fresh Mint by China Glaze

Both Sally Hansen stores in Mt. Pleasant and Summerville were sold out...since we were on already on the way to the ghetto of North Charleston, I checked out that location. Lucky me - they had it! I also picked up this color:

High Hopes by China Glaze

After our success in the ghetto, we drove over to the Asian supermarket on the other end of Rivers Ave. Yikes. This place smells "like both soap and fish." If you can handle the stench, you can get some great deals on Asian staples. I picked up a knob of ginger, 2 stalks of lemongrass, and 4 bottles of Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce:

A 32-ounce bottle only costs $2.59. At Whole Foods it's like 5 something for a 20-ounce bottle. My total for everything was a little over $10. I think I spent more in gas being lost in the hood than I did on actual food. Hmm.

We worked up an appetite and headed over to Ted's Butcherblock for lunch treats. Ted's is a butcher shop and gourmet market in downtown Charleston. Ted was at the counter when we walked in and greeted us cheerfully. He made some recommendations since we were new to the block to help us decide. While we waited for our sandwiches to be made, I snapped some photos.

This was the freshest tasting sandwich I've ever had. The avocado and tomato were at the peak of their ripeness, the pancetta was perfectly crispy, the chicken was moist, and the bread was chewy. Loved it!

As soon as she took a bite she said "Oh that's a 10!" We switched sandwiches for a bite and hers definitely was a 10. She asked for it warm so the brie had melted a little. As our included sides, we both had the three-year Gouda mac & cheese:

The mac & cheese was served cold, which surprised both of us, but it was still good. Ted offered to warm it up, but it was fine just like that. The menu had so many other options that I'd like to try so I'll definitely be back. After eating half our sandwiches, we were filled to the brim, but you-know-who wanted something sweet. I asked Ashley if we should be good and she said we might as well go big or go home. We didn't go home; we went to Baked.

I've been to Baked before and was so in love that I bought three things at once. Baked has a NYC location and a Charleston location on East Bay St. They serve cakes, cupcakes, morning goods, brownies, bars, biscotti, cookies, marshmallows and tarts. I chose a strawberry-lemon curd ginger tart.

It was a ginger and pretzel crust as a base, with a layer of lemon curd and topped with strawberries. The lemon curd was pretty sweet and Ashley and I kept picking at the crust instead. It was a fun foodie day that just energized us for more shopping -- receipts for eyeshadow, lip gloss, and new black heels are now in my purse.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Asian store on Rivers (even though it's stinky)! The Christmas before last I did a totally Asian feast, and that store was AMAZING! Ended up making pork spare ribs, sticky rice, udon noodle soup with beef and vegetables, and papaya salad (super spicy and one of my favorite things EVER)!

Yum - those sandwiches look seriously killer. And a bargain, too! At least, for around here. Of course, around here you can't find food that good, so maybe that's why I'd expect to pay way more than $8, haha. Love hearing about your "ghetto experiences," lol.Glad both of your "asia missions" were ruled a success. Speaking of which - were the Larabars equally as successful?!

Great piece! I'll definitely be trying the Butcherblock. North Charleston isn't that bad, you just have to look at it like an adventure. The kind where you lock your doors, but nevertheless an adventure. It's like a drive-thru lesson in economics,... or a zoo. Always something to see!

hey girlie!!thanks for all your support about my eyeballs! I LOVE nail polish! and both of those colors are gorgeous!! your eats in this post are soooooo DELICIOUS-looking, i wish I could jump through the screen! :)I hope your having a great hump day!~xoxo!

Great nail colors! My latest obsession is finding the best colors. Right now I have about 20 in my collection (is that too many??). Anyways, I just did a post on nail colors... Your pictures whould have been perfect!

If you are speaking of the Asian supermarket by the Ice Palace then I wholeheartedly agree that the stench is unbearable. Kayla and I walked in there one night after practice and ran out gasping for air. Kayla said she didn't know how the smell doesn't get back to the Ice Palace!

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About

Spunky individual with a penchant for culinary delights. Lover of all things pickle-related and photographing what goes in my tummy. Likes? Chick-fil-A, Greek yogurt, beets, fiber, baking, and men who are attractive. Dislikes? Waiting for things to finish baking, bad grammar, slow talkers/walkers, being a mess, and people that take up my personal space. Whether I'm spinning at the gym, whipping up tasty treats, or reviewing a Charleston restaurant with fabulous friends, I'm loving every minute of this life.